Fund That Flip 02 - Design
This is the second post in our Fund That Flip series where we follow a project all the way through. Check out the other posts in this series here!
This post is about the schematic design phase. This is when the design is developed further and becomes more real.
SCHEMATIC DESIGN
We are able to use the response that the client has about the concept design to refine priorities and goals before we move onto other phases of design. For Fund That Flip we were able to establish that the office would be mostly open and retain views of Lake Erie in the space. We also confirmed the goal of making a great first impression when you walk into the office by entering right into the open lounge and kitchen -- where the action is -- rather than into a traditional reception space.
Sheet from a client presentation that shows precedent images and our color diagram.
DESIGN CONCEPT / INSPIRATION
We take these goals and establish them as our design concept that we refer to during further design phases to make sure we’re still meeting them. On top of these design concepts we look at existing examples of similar projects--in architecture, we call them precedents--to get further inspiration and provide images that the clients can see so they can better understand the design direction. For Fund That Flip, we also designed a concept for how color would be distributed spatially throughout the office by making a plan diagram.
Sketch elevations of the kitchen pods.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
The design ideas start getting more specific during the Design Development phase and therefore our sketches and presentations can get more specific too. During this phase, materials evolve from vague notations to specific selections.
MATERIALS
As for choosing these materials, establishing the design diagram helped us follow the rules we set up for ourselves and narrow-down the endless choices of materials. We chose a color scheme that would endure changes in design trends. After sifting through many material samples, we made a physical materials board so our client could see and touch all the actual materials.
Finish materials arranged by proximity to one another.
CLIENT PRESENTATIONS & RENDERINGS
Through this process of design development, we’re able to provide drawings and images to the client that help them understand what the design is. For this project, we held several design meetings to review progress. Toward the later stages of design development, we produced renderings to illustrate what it would be like to be in the finished space. These images provide perspective, material approximation, lighting effects, and other features that differ from more abstract drawings we do, like plans and elevations.
Earlier rendering of lounge and kitchen
Later rendering of lounge and kitchen compared with later rendering of the same area.
As we determine the final design of the project, we move on to construction drawings. Our next post in this series will be all about construction documents.